Star Foam
by Azure Prayer
Summary: For Haruno Sakura, the ending of Fourth Shinobi War was the beginning of nightmares, like being banished from her home village. However, life outside Konoha was far more complex than she thought, especially when someone supposed to be dead involved. AU. MadaSaku
1. Chapter 1 Silver Lining

Disclaimer：I don't own Naruto.

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><p><em>Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, the more often and more intensely the mind of thought is drawn to them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.<em>

_- Immanuel Kant, Critique of Practical Reason_

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><p><strong>Star Foam<strong>

**Chapter One: Silver Lining**

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><p>There was only one white cloud wandering in the windy sky.<p>

It was already mid-autumn when Sakura finally returned from her infiltration mission in Field Country. Perching on a tall oak near the border between Fire and Field, Sakura grimaced behind her porcelain mask. No, the two-month-long assignment wasn't funny at all. Lurking in one of Orochimaru's base was not an easy job, with so much desperation clouded the space. To make it worse, Sakura simply knew the experiments could not be saved. Thusly, the only thing she needed to do after returning to Konoha was to write a dull, time-wasting report and hand it to the Hokage.

Sakura didn't think the man currently in charge of the village was unaware of the fact he had put one of the best shinobi in Konoha to do a meaningless mission, after all, the fact that Rukodaime Hokage had been acquainted with the Snake Sannin was a public secret.

A tickling feeling on her left earlobe made her body stiffened. Emerald eyes narrowed slightly. _This feeling again_, Sakura let out an exasperated hiss. Not long after she turned sixteen, the unsettling feeling of being watched popped out from thin air. She brushed it away the first time it surfaced, ignored it the second time it kicked in. But after enough sleepless nights, she still couldn't shove it away.

_Being a shinobi is not bad enough to be haunted, right?_

The petal-haired kunoichi ran a hand through her short candyfloss. Sighing softly, she jumped down and launched forward from a leafless branch.

Within seconds, the tiger mask ANBU disappeared.

ooooooooo

Shortly after the night descended, the great wall that protected her home village came into sight. Izumo and Kotetsu were nowhere to been seen, and she couldn't feel the any patrolling squad within two miles.

The Rukodaime must have withdrawn force again; even south part of Konoha was the place where civilian settled. Sakura felt her lips pressed into a thin line of disapproval.

Leaving such an opening was deplorable, utterly unacceptable. That was why her ANBU team always patrolling around Konoha when they were at home. However, the Hokage had decided to split up the most efficient ANBU squad and send them to lengthy solo missions.

She leapt into the air, did a somersault, and then landed on the high wall. Her earlobe tingled again, but she ignored it and took off her porcelain mask. It was a moonless night; the entire village was wrapped in the darkness. The civilian blocks were almost empty, those who left were either too stubborn to stay or too weak to flee.

_Konoha is no longer the strongest village in shinobi world. _Sakura ground her teeth. Even Oto was livelier than this ghost town, not to mention Kiri.

She put on her mask again and jumped off the boundary wall, landing on the empty street inside Konoha. Her light footsteps melted into the chilling wind as she made her way to ANBU headquarter.

After turning around the corner, Sakura spotted a dilapidated two-storage bakery. The kanji of Odaya were barely recognizable on the weathered wooden sign. Her chest tightened. The building now falling apart was the place she used to call home.

The civilian family adopted her were not the warmest parents in the world, but they cared for her none the less. Their family bakery had been on the first floor, so the second floor had served as their living quarter. Even since she became a kunoichi, Sakura would spend an entire Sunday afternoon helping mother Akira running the bakery, while father Kunimitsu doing weekly scan through bills and paychecks in his study. Thus she seldom took lengthy mission outside Konoha, until the day she returned home after months of nightmares and bloodshed, only to find the bakery had been closed permanently. A notice nearby said the Oda's were killed during an attack.

The petal-haired ANBU blinked away her tears and whispered a silent prayer to the two civilians and many neighbors she knew. _That War is a utterly waste of lives,_ she thought darkly, then why did someone bend on making the world hell after that?

Noticing the unpleasant direction of her thought, Sakura tsked and turned away. The black cloak parted as she strode down the street, revealing a silver-white vest that was part of ANBU gears. She would check the mission roaster in HQ to see whether Kakashi-taichou was back from Wave or not.

The world she once knew was falling apart, there was no time for her to be cynical.

ooooooooo

This feeling again. Lying with her usual outfit on, Sakura scowled darkly. Her earlobe constantly tingled, feeding her overstrained brain the sensation of being watched since she stepped out ANBU HQ two days ago. The only time it ceased was during her sparring session with Shikamaru and Neji in Nara forest.

_Three more days like this, then I will snap and strangle someone._ Irritated, the petal-haired kunoichi forced herself to stare at the off-white ceiling of her apartment. Inhale, hold, count to ten, exhale. She repeated it for several times; when Sakura was relatively calm, she began to analyze her feelings.

It was a warning, Sakura told herself. Something would happen; she could even smell the anticipation.

The last time her gut instinct screamed at her, Konoha had lost their beloved leader, the Godaime Hokage.

Four years had passed since the day her Tsunade-shishou proudly declared that she had nothing left to teach her protégé, and then poisoned the said girl with sake. Things had changed dramatically. Now she was a Konoha ANBU, going on S-classed missions with Shikamaru, Neji and her ex-sensei. Even Naruto, who used to be the number one knuckle-headed troublemaker in Konohagakure, had become mature enough to go on high-ranked solo missions all by himself.

But power wouldn't come without cost - the fourth Shinobi War had revealed the harsh side of the world. Thousands of shinobi fought and died alongside each other for the sake of the world, all because a psycho, namely Uchiha Obito, bent on casting a world-wide genjutsu. And Naruto, being the host of Kyūbi, encountered Obito in a vicious battle with the aid of Five Kages. In the meantime, Sakura danced in the battle field, saving countless allies and bring destruction to Obito's White Zetsu Army. In the end, Obito was defeated, the bijū became dormant, and peace was dawning.

However, the Shinobi Alliance didn't last long. Soon after the ultimate threats were abolished, the alliance fell apart. Each and every village sought for their own good, hoarding every ounce of resource after the depression in order to strengthen themselves, regardless of the fact they once struggled together.

Feeling slightly disoriented, Sakura stared at the Medic Oath engraved on her wall and calmed her breath. "Clause one: No medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end" She read the first rule aloud. How pathetic, in this ruthless world, how many still cared about other?

_Oh, leave it be!_ The more rational side of her screamed, _you're getting too emotional. No matter how hard life is, at least you are alive and kicking._ Sakura knew, deep down inside, she still believed in human nature; but she was so close to lose hope.

The kunoichi recalled the large grin Naruto sported yesterday. But Sakura knew it had gradually become a mask to hide his sorrow. Seldom did they see each other now, but she couldn't blame the blonde, for they reminded each other how much pain they had suffered. Surely they need space to cure their emotional scares... Ever since Sasuke came back to Konoha they rarely talked to each other. Oh yes, the Uchiha Sasuke came home on his own will after the grand funeral for Tsunade-shishou and many other Konoha shinobi… With a redhead kunoichi and a month-old infant.

_When the entire world was struggling, Sasuke had been busy fulfilling his second goal: making babies._ Sakura thought sarcastically, and sat up on her bed. _Compromising a whore is such a great thing, surely it won't bring shame to the Uchiha name._

Sighing, she combed her candyfloss with her slender fingers. Sakura preferred keeping her hair short, even Ino's constant bugging couldn't change her mind. _Long hair and pretty accessories are for good shinobi._ She reminded herself. Perhaps her medical skills had surpassed Tsunade, but there were always bigger fish. She bit her lips softly. The bijū were gone now, but what would happen if they return. Would they remember their promise to make peace with men? Would they fall into the wrong hands? There was no answer to her questions.

Sakura looked up to the crest moon. It was almost midnight; Kakashi should be on his way back. Her earlobe tingled again. This time, she could even feel someone _breathing_ behind her neck.

Sneering characteristically, the petal-haired stood up and grabbed her weapon pouch. She jumped out of her bedroom window and headed straight to the fifth training ground.

She needed to punch something, consequences be damned.

ooooooooo

After tearing the entire training ground up-side-down, Sakura felt decidedly better. But still, she was restless, that was why she was patrolling outside the boundary wall.

The petal-haired female halted as she heard a thundering roar. Panting softly, she tilted her head to the east. Some cool liquid fell on her face.

Drip, drip, drip...

Single raindrops quickly became a vast waterfall, pouring down on to a very annoyed Sakura.

"This is just great!" She hissed in exasperation, "Investigating under Orochimaru's nose, suffering from phantom pain, and now, being caught in a shower!"

Sakura dropped to ground level and sat on a pile of fallen leaves. Her short locks and kunoichi outfit were already soaking wet. _If a lightning stoke down now, I will be roasted._ She fixed her attention at a distant spot on the horizon.

A blazing light tore the dark clouds apart. Heaven's roars were like the battle cries of Jūbi. Sakura shuddered. The weather now was so much alike to the night Tsunade-shishou left Konoha behind.

Before she could suffer from hypothermia, the faint smell of smoke alarmed the kunoichi. She jumped up and dashed back to her village.

ooooooooo

Sakura's instinct toward danger proved to be painfully reliable - her home village was on fire.

It was obvious that Konoha was under attacked. In the civilian district in front of her, raging flames ate through wooden houses and allies, leaving ashes and burnt material in its wake. Sakura leaped into air, scanning the other parts of the village. It seemed this was the only place on fire. _But where the hell are the chunnin squads? Sasuke should have someone put off the fire!_

Before she started to fall, a hooded figure came into sight. Sakura pulled out a kunai from the holster bound on her thigh, effortlessly blocked all the shurikens thrown at her, then tossed her kunai to the intruder.

The soft _thump_ of kunai buried in the soil was almost inaudible in the rain.

She landed on a pound of water, crouched down like a feline ready to strike. "Who are you? Why are you attacking Konohagakure?!" She demanded, her eyes landed on his slashed forehead protector. A Kiri missing nin.

The intruder said nothing and threw a kunai aimed at her neck. She dodged it with ease, only to find a sword directed to her shoulder.

The cloaked shinobi slashed his sword through the kunoichi, removing her left arm from her torso. The petite figure collapsed to the muddy ground, then he noticed: there was no blood coming out. He gasped and spun on his heel.

"Shanaro!" Sakura burst out from the pound her previously crouched on, gave the man a solid punch on his chest. The chakra she directed into his system would damage his tissues within seconds.

The missing nin was dead before he hit the nearby tree and shattered it. Very much sure her opponent was no longer a threat; Sakura tsked and dispelled her bunshin.

She gazed over the fire, her mind forming several plans on putting off the fire _and_ persuading the Rukodaime to spare some found rebuilding the district. Then she sensed several familiar chakra signatures approaching. _If shishou is still in charge of Konoha... there won't be any invasion like this._ She thought grimly.

"Haruno Sakura, what are you doing here?" Rukodaime Hokage strolled towards the kunoichi, glaring at her with a bored expression.

"Sasuke," The petal-haired female hissed angrily. "Why didn't you do something about the fire?!"

"I did," Wrapped in the white haori, Uchiha Sasuke replied coldly, "And you shall call me Hokage-sama."

Hokage-sama? _Hokage-sama?!_ Sakura scoffed and turned away. Before his defection six years ago, Sasuke had been a moody, brooding teenager, always trying his best to pick up fights with Naruto. After he had backed after the grand funeral (Sakura mentally flinched), he was an ass thorough and thorough. Sakura couldn't recall if her former teammate did something good for Konoha; and he married to an experiment of Orochimaru, as heartless as himself.

Then she felt an iron grip on her left shoulder. "Answer my question."

"Don't you touch me!" Anger surged through Sakura's veins. She slapped him, forcing the raven-haired shinobi back off. "You might be the Hokage, but you don't have the power to be one. You are worse than Danzo. And your eyes must be deteriorating, eating up your eye-sight seconds by seconds. Just like Itachi's, your eyes will eventually..."

Before Sakura could finish, she was smacked across her face. Inhaling sharply, she stepped behind a little to regain her balance and covered her hand on her cheek. Emerald orbs burned like fire.

"Never use his name." The heartless Hokage stated in monotone. "And don't be making up shit like that, little girl."

_Little girl? How dare he to speak of me like that!_ Emerald eyes narrowed into slits. Yet the rosette didn't mutter a word.

Eerie silence stretch between them, then Sasuke spoke again. "Get out of here." The tomoe in his eyes were spinning dangerously. "You are merely a civilian girl playing ninja games. Your skill as a kunoichi is nothing but pathetic; with your attitude, you would be a bad example for my man."

"What the hell?! You have no right to..."

"I am the Rukodaime Hokage of Konohagakure. Leave my village in thirty minutes, Haruno, else I will send ANBU after you."

_Finally._ Sakura stared at her former teammate. Her calmness almost made her question her sanity. After some many shinobi, now was her turn to be expelled. Under Sasuke's hand, the once prosperous village was now a ghost town. Many of her comrades had fled to Suna in search of protection, which Gaara gladly provided. Team Gai had left for half a year now, along with Izumo and Kotetsu. Only those who were bounded to this land didn't left, like Hyūga clan and Ino-Shika-Cho.

Of course she had been offered to travel to Suna more than one time, yet she refused to give up, still hoping that everything would be alright. But apparently, her current condition was everything but alright. Sasuke was serious, and Sakura had faith in him that he would order an execution if she lingered any longer.

She had to go.

"Fine," Sakura replied tonelessly. Her voice cold, betraying nothing of her thought. "I will leave, and I'll show you how wrong you are, Uchiha Sasuke." Then she walked pass that heartless bastard and headed towards her humble apartment for packing.

"You're just a medical ninja, nothing more." She heard his voice through the rain, dripped with venom, "I have a village full of them. You might be special since you have such an abnormal forehead, but you are just an average…"

"Shut up! See you never."

ooooooooo

A wild sadistic smirk appeared on Sasuke's pale face as the petal-haired female disappeared into rain. Water splinted, he turned to his wife, who was wobbling in her high hills. One could still smell the strong perfume rolling off her.

The redhead clang to Sasuke's left arm and pressed her coated lips on his. "About time we got rid of her. With her gone, I am the prettiest kunoichi in entire Konoha." She said.

"You have always been the prettiest kunoichi." Sasuke pulled her face towards his and kissed her cheek. The obnoxious smell of perfume tickled his nostrils; he scowled, then pulled himself up and glared into the darkness.

"Sasuke-kun~ I have a question~" Karin said in a fake pusillanimous voice. "Why do you hate Sakura so much?"

The Hokage glared at the redhead for a while, before he replied darkly. "Long before I meet know you, Karin, I asked her to help me revive my clan. But she said no. Ever since then, I can't stand looking at her."

"I can't believe her! No one can be that dumb to turn you down!" Karin screamed in a high-pitched voice.

"Except someone smart."

The two turned to the familiar voice. The new comer had spiky blond hair and sharp cerulean eyes. There were several cat-like whiskers on his face, which was covered in ashes. Uzumaki Naruto was still wearing his orange jumpsuit as he had when he was a gennin. Despite the fact Naruto got a field promote that made him jōin, he never wore the regular green tank top for Konoha ninja.

He barely grinned at Sasuke.

"The fire is out… Hokage."

"Very well." Sasuke pulled Karin to him and closed his eyes, "Make sure my mansion is well cleaned and in good condition; there are some business I'd like to take care of."

"Yes sir." The blond nodded and disappeared with a slight puff.

"Sasuke-kun?" The redhead asked. "Are you just using me for sex?"

"No. Of course not." Eyes closed, Sasuke caressed Karin's cheek. "You are much more important than that. You are my wife, and you shall help me revive my clan."

The redhead blushed. "Isn't there another Uchiha that can do this?" Sasuke opened his eyes and stared at her.

"I mean, the sex part is great, but me as a mom…"

Sasuke mouthed off her for a moment and then pulled back, examining her expression carefully.

"Outside this village, there is only one Uchiha alive, but he doesn't plan to continue his line. He is Madara, the Ghost of Uchiha, rival to Yodaime and the one wants to conquer the shinobi world."

"Sounds hot." Karin breathed.

"You said something."

The woman shook her hand frantically. Seeing this, crimson eyes turned into onyx.

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><p>AN：Okay, here is the first chapter of Star Foam, which is partially inspired by MadaSaku's fanfic _Kryptonite_. But I promise that the plots are quiet different from each other. I'd love to know what you think of it. Please leave a review if you can. ~Azure

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><p>Next chapter: Angel in Exile<p> 


	2. Chapter 2 Angel in Exile

Happy New Year my dear readers. Thank you so much for all your reviews. Your commendations and criticisms are greatly appreciated. Here I present the second chapter.

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><p>Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto as well as his demon.<p>

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><p><strong>Star Foam<strong>

**Chapter Two: Angel in Exile**

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><p>Wiping off the thin layer of sweat on her forehead, Sakura leaned her shoulder against the pale grey tree trunk to her left. Warily, she glanced around her surroundings. The open plain near the western border of Fire wasn't an ideal place for a half drained kunoichi on the run. She would have some rest here, before going northwest and, if possible, passing some small countries and heading to Suna. After all, her name was not Naruto, she needed to restore her chakra after four days of constant fighting.<p>

On that fateful night, she used exactly twelve minutes to pack her personal belongings and all the supplies within her reach into a blank storage scroll and a knapsack, and then flee from Konoha as fast as she could. It was agony to know she could no longer return to the place she once called home. Her heart was more than a little hollow, as if kami-sama had drained all her remaining morale through an invisible straw. But she couldn't feel the depression; her subconscious had blocked it away. When the day had come, the petal-haired kunoichi numbly accepted the fact that her former teammate just kicked her out like yesterday's garbage.

_I should have accepted Ten Ten's offer and gone to Suna._ Sighing, Sakura lifted her up from the tree and proceeded to secure the parameter. She planned to get away from Fire as soon as possible and then embrace another round of survival exercise.

No, Sasuke didn't send Konoha squads right after her. The reason was self-evidencing: Konoha didn't have enough manpower to hunt a little kunoichi down. Instead, the mighty Rukodaime had placed a large sum of bounty on her head and then hired herds of missing nin, lightening the burden on the remaining Konoha nin.

Or did he? Emerald eyes narrowed slightly as Sakura sensed several approaching shinobi. She straightened to her full height. Slender fingers ghosted on her kunai holster as adrenaline kicked in.

Four shinobi burst out from the scattered trees and ran horizontally to the ground, until halted five or six steps away from her. Sakura's eyes landed on their masks. They were Konoha nin, but the smooth surface revealed nothing of their identities.

"Please leave, ANBU-san. I have no intention to harm you." She stated calmly. The last thing in her mind was to fight Konoha nin, even they were sent to kill her. Truth to be told, without her teammates as her backup, the petal-haired kunoichi wasn't sure if she could deal with four elite shinobi from her home village.

The ANBU said nothing. but they didn't attack her either. So when one of them tossed something at her, she flipped her wrist with the grace of constant practice, and almost slashed the cylinder-shaped object into half. Almost. Because there was her ANBU teammate's chakra lingering on it.

_Shikamaru?_

Still watching the four shinobi in her peripheral vision, Sakura caught it with her free hand and inspected it, fully prepared to throw it away if it exploded. The object was a regular scroll case. No explosive tags, no genjutsu designs, no ninjetsu-based traps. The only thing out of place was the disturbingly familiar fūinjutsu, where Shikamaru's chakra was leaking out.

The petal-haired kunoichi turned to the shinobi fully. "What is it?"

"Haruno Sakura, you shall keep the items safe." The leader of the squad said quietly. His voice was soft and calm, albeit muffled by the blank mask. "All the information you need is written inside the scroll."

Before Sakura could ask the shinobi what he was talking about, the masked male brought his hand up and formed the distinctive hand seal for the teleport jutsu. With a courteous "be safe", he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Behind him, his subordinates did the same.

_Should I chase after them and voice my questions? _Her lips pressed into a thin line as the shinobi's chakra signatures reappeared half a mile away. Sakura was sure she had met the squad leader before, but the question was when and where?

She stared at the space previously occupied by the Konoha elites, while in her mind's eye, four pinpoints of chakra quickly moving east. The wind was soft. The grass were tall. She was left completely alone.

A little unnerved, Sakura paid more attention to the scroll. It was medium size, with a regular sealing tag pasted on the surface. If not for the subtle chakra flows underneath, one could dismiss it as an item for a B-class transportation mission. _But it's sealed by a fūinjutsu that should not be used by public. What makes Shikamaru giving the jutsu to someone else?_

The seal was one of findings of a secret assignment she and Shikamaru received at the end of the Fourth Shinobi War. In the project Flare, the two were supposed to "develop some useful seals for scroll transportation and other usage" in case the previous ones were decoded during the War.

Although creating new jutsu was way harder than modifying pre-exist ones, she and Shikamaru managed to complete the seals in theory and execute the first three levels before the deadline of Flare. However, their findings would never come into practice in Konoha, not under the thumb of one Uchiha Sasuke. The Godaime Hokage had sacrificed before she could review and accept their handiwork.

Sakura probed her chakra into the scroll, her brows knit in concentration. _Two layers, one breaking points._ This was Genbu Fūin. Named the God of Northern Sky, it was the third fūin in the series.

If Shikamaru was using Genbu Fūin on this scroll, then the contains must be things that concerned Konoha's security. _Then I can't go to Suna now. _The petal-haired kunoichi tugged the mysterious scroll into her knapsack and then soothed down the wrinkles on her beige apron. Her medic attire was uncommon in the outside world. For safety reasons, she would buy some clothes in the next civilian village.

The absence of that haunted feeling didn't escape her notice. So Sakura tiredly sat down against the tree. Meditation, no matter how light it was, would generate some life-saving chakra for her.

ooooooooo

When Sakura stepped foot in Rain, the whole country was already tinted silver white. She took one look at the frozen landscape and decided it would be unnecessary for her to be stealth, seeing her pursuers wouldn't came out in this cold weather.

A blast of wind swept through the wild, making the petal-haired kunoichi pulled her grayish cloak tighter. The new outfit she acquired in River was warm, comfortable and stark enough to make her unimpressionable, only if she put on the hood and hid her candyfloss-pink hair from view.

Sakura didn't know Amegakure's attitude towards Konoha. The shinobi village in Rain was infamous for being the birthplace of Akatsuki. Whereas it joined the Alliance during the Fourth Shinobi War, she couldn't help but avoid contacts with Ame nin. Until now, after she had searched River inch by inch without finding a safe harbor. The winter had come, and Sakura didn't feel like wondering in a frozen wild all alone while her supplements were running low.

_I need sharper eyes if I was cornered in a winter plain. Senbon are hard to see against glittering snow. _Sakura wondered airily as she fished out a map from her pocket and unfolded it. _Or a less favorable battlefield for hunter nin, though I can always produce a mini earthquake. _On the map, she spotted a black dot representing a civilian town not far from here. There was high chance for her to meet some Ame nin there.

Breathing in the chill winter air, the petal-haired kunoichi adjusted her knapsack and sprinted forward. She sailed through the frozen plain soundlessly. Her shallow footprints on the fresh snow were soon erased by the whistling wind.

When the pale sun was high in the sky, the small town came into view.

Expanding her senses, Sakura ventured into the busy streets; to her surprise, the rural town was so lively, as if had never been through the previous. The residents were enjoying the first breath of winter. She could see an elderly couple slowly walked into a fruit store, their hair as white as snow. Groups of housewives were chatting at the crossroad. And children that were laughing gleefully, kids between five to nine, throwing snowballs at each other.

The laughter brought up a vague imagine from her subconsciousness: misty mountains, a wood door, and a small toddler with pink hair, happily waging in the snow. Sakura blinked. The memory disappeared as quickly as it surfaced. A tight sensation built up in her chest, making emeralds eyes damp unconsciously.

_I must be more than a little homesick,_ she decided. Then she resumed her previous search, trying her best to pick up some chakra signatures flaring bright enough to be shinobi's.

ooooooooo

For three nights she waited patiently for a sign of Ame shinobi. When the sun peeked over the horizon on the fourth day, Sakura detected her long-expecting guests. However, what she hadn't expected was an invitation to Amegakure delivered from the ninja boy leading that make-shift squad.

_A shinobi village doesn't invite a missing nin to a nice tea party. But they don't have any hostile intention, do they?_ Seeing there was no better way to go, Sakura accepted the offer and followed the Ame nin to their village.

Ame had kept its secrets away from all the major shinobi villages for decades, making it a perfect base for Akatsuki. Now she was able to walk on Ame's main streets. Being a well-trained ANBU, Sakura scanned her surroundings quietly, memorizing all the possible paths if she needed to break out.

There were people on the road, shinobi and civilian alike. But none of them paid her much attention. _How strange. Isn't Amegakure famous for its antiforeign tendency?_

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked cautiously.

"To the center tower, of course!" One of the Ame shinobi chirped happily, sending her a broad grin. He was no older than fifteen. _A ninja boy._ What was his name again? Deisuke? Yeah, Deisuke. "Tenshi-sama sent us to fetch you!"

_Tenshi-sama?_ Sakura frowned. She remembered that name, the Akatsuki who had once studied under Jiraiya-sama.

"Ne, Deisuke-kun, do you have any idea why Tenshi-sama wants to see me?"

"Dunno... But I've heard grown-ups talking about you! They said you were a great kunoichi." The boy beamed, pointing at the entranced to a weathered building. "Here we are, Sakura-sama! Just go through the hall and take the elevator on your left. Tenshi-sama is waiting for you at the top. See ya!"

Waving goodbye to the squad, Sakura walked into the building. Her light footsteps broke through the frigid air as she ventured into the long dim corridor.

ooooooooo

Moments later, Sakura found herself standing face to face with the village head of Amegakure. The blue-haired kunoichi was wearing a long black mantle minus Akatsuki insignia. A delicate origami decorated her blue hair.

She remembered the day when Ame joined the Shinobi Alliance. The Raikage was not pleased to see that they were going to have Akatsuki as an ally. Konan, however, explained that Akatsuki was originally a self-defensive organization but being controlled by Tobi, and promised the irritated male that Ame had been ride of the deadly manipulation.

"You must the village head of Amegakure." She intoned quietly, holding out a hand as a friendly gesture. " I am Haruno Sakura, apprentice to Godaime Hokage Tsunade. My apology for not introduce myself earlier during the previous war."

The blue-haired female took her hand and shook it slightly. "Sakura-san, there's no need for an apology. I am Konan, Jiraiya-sensei's student and the current leader of Amegakure. It's a pleasure to meet you properly." Then she gestured Sakura to follow and led them to into a large conference room.

Sakura placed herself on the coach near the window and regarded the other female warily. She knew little about Konan, who had been the solo female member of Akatsuki. Ever since the war ended, Akatsuki had never come into public, making Konoha suspect it to be disbanded. But was it simply lying low and breeding another catastrophe? Konoha's T&I department had been working so hard on find a solid evidence but in vain. Ironically, being a missing nin, Sakura finally got a chance to find out the truth. But she had to be careful, or else.

"With all due respect, Konan-san, I think you should clarify your intention of inviting a Konoha missing nin into your village."

Her heat skipped a bit when she saw a peculiar light flashed through Konan's amber eyes. Hands glowing with deadly chakra scalpels, the petal-haired female jumped to her feet and prepared herself for any forthcoming battle.

"There is no need to be so tensed; Amegakure and its shinobi mean you no harm. Please sit down." Konan said softly. "Your worry is unnecessary. Akatsuki had fallen apart the moment Nagato gave up his life to redeem our wrongdoings."

Bright emerald stared into smothering amber. Sakura prod for any hidden hostility behind Konan's. But there was none. The Ame kunoichi had something to offer, and Sakura suspected that had something to do with her medical knowledge.

"Who is Nagato?" She inquiring warily, but the other female looked as calm as one behaving in front his siblings. ...Fine, she had been a little overacting. Sighing mentally, the kunoichi sat down and dispelled the chakra scalpels.

"He was my partner, the former leader of Amegakure. To the outside world, his name is Pein."

Pein, the name evoked fear in Konoha, and loathing, if she dared say. In order to capture kyūbi, the Akatsuki leader had reduced her home village to a shamble within seconds, killing and injuring hundreds in the process. Then Naruto appeared and chased the god-like enemy out of the village. No one knew exactly what happened between them, yet Pein revived all the Konaha residents deceased that day and then died from chakra exhaustion. _Naruto's words always work like a charm, turning an enemy into a friend through speaking._ she thought bitterly, _but Sasuke never listen to him._

Sakura fixed her eyes on the other kunoichi, noticing the tension on her shoulders. Apparently, Konan wasn't comfortable talking about her deceased partner. But Sakura didn't apologize. Instead, she nodded and then voiced her question.

"If Ame isn't aiming at the bounty over my head, what do you want from me?"

"Your abilities as a medic and kunoichi," said Konan. "Amegakure needs to establish its own medical system and you are the best medic in shinobi world. What's more, it'll be very beneficial for Ame if we can win an ANBU-class kunoichi to our side."

"I'm not staying. And I won't share my medical knowledge with any potential enemy to Konoha."

Hearing this, the other female slightly nodded, as if she had being expecting Sakura's refusal. "You needn't to join our rank, Sakura-san. All you have to do is to train us some medic nin, then Ame will provide you with a safe haven whenever you require one, as long as you do not endanger our security."

_Should I accept?_ Sakura questioned herself.

It wasn't difficult to understand the risk she was facing, once she lent her aid to Ame. But if the Ame show any sign to capture her, she could always break out. _Or commit suicide, if the situation calls. One jolt of chakra to the heart then no one can lay his hands on Konoha's secrets._

Besides, Sakura had been through the medic training before, and she knew it was only a matter of time before Ame founding its own medical system. Her participation would only accelerate the process by giving instructions. Despite her head and the mysterious scroll in her knapsack, she had nothing to lose. How much worse would it be, comparing to the past two months of being constantly on the run?

"I'm considering." She said flatly. "But one last question. Your offer is too good for a foreign shinobi without any personal connection. Why not help Naruto? Both of you were Jiraiya-sama's apprentices, were you not?"

Hearing this, Konan raised a delicate eyebrow. "Nagato believed in Naruto, so I believe in him too. However, personal charisma and optimism are not enough in high places."

Sakura wanted to retort, but what could she say? _On battlefield, Naruto can turn a foe into a friend no matter how bad the situation is. In conference room, his ability to deal with unfriendly outlanders is a downright __dismal._ Her lips pressed tighter as she recalled the numerous failed attempts that the blonde ex-jinjūriki performed in order to persuade an unrepentant Uchiha. _What can he do if Sasuke doesn't _want_ to be saved?_

Regardless of Sakura's silence, the other female continued. "Besides, Yahiko and Nagato's will is shared by many other shinobi - including you, Sakura-san - making it easier to fulfill the dream of peace."

"We are shinobi, and there is no absolute peace in this world of constant competition."

"Perhaps. But it is also true one can try his best to make the world as closer to peace as possible. That was the ultimate goal of my partners, and I can see you well on your way towards it."

Sakura shuddered. The unsettling notion of her sharing the same dream with Pein was way too much for her sanity. Thusly, she grabbed on the first thing came into her mind, praying of a change in the topic.

"No comment on flowers of hope?"

The leader of Amegakure merely smiled. Not the large grin Naruto usually sported on his face, but a gentle smile that reminded Sakura so much of Shizune. The knowing look, the tiny tilt of lips and the softer gaze in those calming eyes...

_A smile only an elder sister can give to her confused siblings._

"No, there is none," Konan replied lightly, her voice tinted with amusement. "Now, let me show you around."

ooooooooo

Sighing in satisfaction, the petal-haired kunoichi collapsed on to the soft lulling bed after a long-expecting hot bath. Konan had given her a suite in the central tower, much to Sakura's bewilderment. _Konan needs to keep an eye on me._ She turned on her side. A few shrands of her candyfloss hair fell on to her face, and Sakura promptly decided to trim it shorter tomorrow.

She ran one last check on the traps she set previously before raising a chakra barrier around the room, a small trick she learned from Tsunade-shishou. Sitting cross-legs, the kunoichi took out the mysterious scroll and gently placed it in front her.

Lying on the soft coverlet was a standard storage scroll that could be purchased by any Konoha. _Of course Shikamaru won't leave some marks on a scroll for a missing nin._ Sakura pealed away the sealing tag with ease, and then poured her chakra in to the hidden seal.

There were several chakra mingled in the seal, six, to be accurate. Aside from Ino, the younger and the older generation of Ino-Shika-Cho had contributed their chakra to it, while the remaining one represented the faceless ANBU who had given her the scroll.

_If they have something to tell me, why not use a message scroll?_ Removing her hand from the scroll, Sakura tucked away her candyfloss hair (which was a little longer for her own taste) behind her ear. Message scrolls are much smaller than those for storage. The space prepared for sealing patterns made the later less portable for a shinobi. The scroll Naruto used to summon his bunshin was so large that the ex-jinjūriki had to carry it on his back. Emerald eyes dilated slightly.

_Dragon, horse, hare, snake, dragon, dog, bird._ Hands racing through the hand seals with familiarity. When she made the ninth, she paused and hold her breathe.

Subtly on the smooth grayish surface, lines of blue-green emerged. The faint chakra threads grew wider within a heartbeat before vanishing, revealing some intricate kanji patterns that served as the inner part of the seal. An empty circle, no bigger than a baby's fist, displayed in the center of the scroll.

With a speed that would make Kakashi proud, the kunoichi performed the remaining hand seals. _Ox, boar, rat, snake again..._ She curled her right hand into a half ram and positioned it above the circle while making a half Yang Water seal with her remaining hand.

"Kai!"

The glowing kanji appeared in the center of the circle. Then all the glowing lines dissolved like snow.

Sakura inhaled sharply as three more scrolls fell on to her bed. _For kami's sake, two of them are sealed by Seiryu Fūin!_ With shaky hands, she picked up the one lying in the middle and unsealed it.

A message scroll, written by those who had make the seals. The first message was short, no more than a few sentences. _Hi, Sakura! This is Chōji._ It read. _Shikamaru tells me you are now banished from Konoha and they are some documents you get to take with you. Eat well and stay safe. Chōji._

Then there were were messages from the older generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. Inoichi-san mainly focused on the psychological tactics dealing with hunter nin, while Chōza provided several fancy ways on disguising. Shikaku's writing was the most elegant one among the trio. With his perfect penmanship, the elder Nara informed her that Tsunade-shishou started to relocate all of Konoha's confidential documents to Nara compound in light of any political upheaval occurred. Now that Sasuke began to search for those documents, they decided to send the archive to her, alongside a scroll from Godaime Hokage.

_Tsunade-shishou…_ Emerald eyes welled up with tears. How Sakura missed her mother of all but blood. Hell, she would give her all in exchange for one more afternoon helping Tsunade fight against those mountainous piles of paperwork. The kunoichi felt like crying. But the Slug Sannin had taught her better, so she swallowed her tears and somehow managed to read on.

"You should change your fighting tactics. During our time in ANBU, you mainly focused on taijutsu and medical jutsu… Now you don't have any teammate look after your back, you need to be careful. Try some genjutsu that require precise chakra control and use your kantana more often..."

Those flow, elegant handwriting belonged to Neji. The Hyūga heir had also retelled his uncle's words: refrain from confronting Konoha shinobi in Fire's territory, which will help her regain her previous statue.

Shikamaru's massage was the last one on this scroll. Before scanning the long massage, the kunoichi made a mental note to teach the younger Nara a lesson on "not to give away your handiwork this easy". In his letter, Shikamaru explained the nasty situation caused by their most troublesome Hokage, the reason why he deemed it better to send her the top-secret files, and bided her farewell. He also said the smallest scroll enclosed was from Tsunade.

Why did Tsunade-shishou leave her a scroll? What made the Slug Sannin decide not to give it to her directly? Did the Slug Sannin foreseen her death?

Heart beating like a drum, Sakura reached out and unraveled the smallest scroll. The first thing she noticed was a summoning diagram that occupied most of the paper. It was written by blood.

Tsunade's blood.

_Blood seals can only be activated by the receivers' blood, making those techniques bloody useful when it comes to hide things._ Her mentor once remarked casually during lunch break after a hectic morning of paperwork, a flask of sake in her hand, a rumbling Shizune on her right...

No, she couldn't afford to dwell in the past. If she exhausted herself because of _crying_ like a school girl, she would be completely vulnerable to assassins. A little light-headed, the kunoichi swallowed a soft cry, and then forced herself to inspect the scroll. Aside from the claret lines, there was only a line of fierce scribbles at the bottom.

"The time has come. Now I leave my medic journal and the Scroll of Seals to you. Use them well."

She cried into her hands.

* * *

><p>Next Chapter: Gaining Wings<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Before your guys firing questions at me, there are a few words I get to say. Now you may have figured out the plotline in my story is way different from canon. In fact, Sakura being capable of designing varies fūin is only a start... I think I should tell you that, in this alternative universe, Sasuke didn't run into Itachi during the Fourrh Shinobi War, Sakura did. You get me? Good.

For those who are interested: Genbu is one of the Celestial Beasts in Chinese and Japenese mythology, sometimes referred as the God of Water. The names of the Beasts in Romaji are Seiryu (east, wood), Byakko (west, wind), Suzaku (south, fire) and Genbu (north, water). They can be translated into Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird and Dark Tortoise, respectively.

One more thing. In the next chapter, Sakura will have a mission to complete. What sort of mission would you like to see? I've got a plot in mind, but I want to know your opinions. Please give me some fantastic ideas!


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